10 meals you’ll definitely recognize from your student days
My student days may well have been the best time of my life. I’m saying that now, even though I haven’t hit 30 yet. I lived with five housemates — 25 if you count the mice — in a student house. Above a doughnut shop, so I smelled like a mixture of kebab and fries 24/7. We showered with cold water half the time and the washing machine was permanently broken, but hey, it was amazing. Also amazing: cooking and eating together. Everyone was broke (but did have enough money to go out three times a week), so we had to get creative.
We managed that better some times than others. Sometimes it was a simple sausage roll, sometimes our own budget version of a McWrap. But if you asked us: always delicious. Do you also have a student-house past, or do you live in one now? These are 10 meals that you’ll definitely recognize as a (former) student.
Pesto pasta
The classic of all classics among students. If you’ve never eaten pesto pasta as a student, you haven’t really been a student. There honestly isn’t an easier recipe. Cook pasta, stir a jar of pesto through it and you’re done. Is it actually a recipe? Yes, if you make the pesto yourself. And now that we can afford a little more than a jar of store-brand pesto (although…), we can definitely do that. With this tip, you’ll make the best pesto pasta ever.
White rice with Chicken Tonight and chicken (on sale)
After eating pesto pasta four days in a row, we did need a little variety. We often did that with simple white rice, Chicken Tonight and chicken. But only if the chicken was on sale, because otherwise it was truly unaffordable. Now I’m a little ashamed of the bargain-basement chicken we bought back then, but oh well. There are more moments from my student days that I’m ashamed of now. On to the next meal.
Wraps
The wrap is a crowd-pleaser. Students love it too. It’s easy, because you simply put some ingredients on the table and everyone fills theirs with whatever they want. You really can’t go wrong. And it doesn’t have to get expensive either. Cans of beans — if you want to go for the Mexican version — cost next to nothing. Our student success recipe: our own version of the McWrap. Cut crispy chicken schnitzels (which we bought on sale) into pieces, add iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and honey-mustard sauce to a wrap, and you’re done. Simple, but so incredibly delicious. I think I’ll make them again tonight.
Sausage roll
The thing about a sausage roll is that you can always eat one. In the morning, afternoon or evening, with or without a hangover, whether you’ve just eaten or not… Sausage is always good. It’s best with a soft white bread roll. You’d buy them in packs of 10 in a plastic bag at the supermarket around the corner. And then, of course, squeeze on a scandalous amount of sauce. Bad news for anyone who ate an excessive number of sausages during their student days: every sausage roll costs you 35 minutes of your life. Ouch. Still, it was delicious.
Packet of instant noodles
For when you were really, really, really broke (read: you only had €1 left in your account) but still wanted to eat something tasty. And especially when you didn’t want to make any effort either. Everyone had their own favorite, and a whole collection of it in their own corner of the pantry. Do you still swear by instant noodles (no shame, me too)? Then we have some tasty tips for pimping them up. So you can make the grown-up version.
Grilled cheese sandwiches made with white sandwich bread
Another thing you can eat all day long: grilled cheese sandwiches. We ate kilos of them during our student days too. Preferably made with white sandwich bread, because it was cheap and delicious. With a bit of luck, the cheese was affordable too. Sometimes we made them in a pan, but usually in the sandwich maker. Which we never cleaned. If only we’d known this trick, we’d never have had such a filthy appliance again.
Ready-made lasagna from Aldi or Lidl
Simple, cheap and delicious. Because why go to all that effort for lasagna when it can be so much easier? Exactly. Okay, now that we know how to make the perfect lasagna ourselves, we no longer dare venture into the chilled pasta section at Aldi and Lidl. But back then, that ready-made budget version was simply perfect for us students.
McDonald’s from the night before
Never in our lives had we been to McDonald’s as often as during our student days. McDonald’s after a night out was a regular occurrence, so we were regular customers. Sometimes you ordered too much. Because you weren’t as hungry as you thought, or because you accidentally tapped five hamburgers on the self-service screen instead of two. Either way, you had hamburgers left over. And what did you do with them? You simply put them in the sandwich maker the next day. There you have it: the perfect hangover food without having to leave the house.
Knorr World Dishes (when they’re on promotion)
If we had a little more to spend and there was a great deal, we stocked up on Knorr World Dishes. Family packs preferably, because there were six of us. Easy, sometimes cheap and above all delicious. We had nothing to complain about. These eight complainers about Knorr World Dishes, on the other hand…
Pasta with jarred sauce and pre-cut vegetables
The more luxurious version of pesto pasta. Sometimes you realized you really should get some vitamins in, so you bought a pack of pre-cut vegetables for your pasta. We couldn’t be bothered to cut vegetables (plus, in our eyes, all those individual vegetables were too expensive). Add a jar of ready-made sauce and you had a perfectly decent meal. My favorite — and the very first meal I made as a student when I moved out on my own — was white farfalle with red sauce and pre-cut vegetables. What a beautiful time.
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